Friday, August 1, 2014

Mortification, Penance, Suffering Seen through the Holy Spirit

By Barbara A. Schoeneberger

Flower Sellers of London by Dore
(Wikimedia Commons)

Comprehending the value of the
Cross, of suffering, of willful mortification and penance is impossible
with the human eye alone. We need the light of the Holy Spirit to live
through that which is visited upon us just as Jesus was seized and
killed by worldly powers. In the eyes of the world he was just a man,
one certainly with extraordinary power to heal both hearts and bodies,
but in the end, just someone who could be killed to be gotten out of the
way.

To the world, suffering makes no
sense. It is a mystery. Mortification and penance make no sense. The
world cannot conceive the hidden meaning and value of suffering and so
it vainly seeks to end it by purely earthly means – this program and
that, but oddly enough only creating more suffering.

When by the grace
of the Holy Spirit and with a generous heart charity seizes us, we can
not only accept that which is beyond our control, but also choose to
take advantage of all the many instances we find daily to deny ourselves
and follow in the footsteps of the Lord.
In Meditation #97 of Divine Intimacy Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene writes:

The
spirit of mortification has more than a purely physical aspect of
mortification; it also includes renunciation of the ego, the will, and
the understanding.